It is conventional to fire or cure thick films printed on a substrate. Typically, these are coatings or paste layers applied to the top surface of the substrate. Such layers serve later for manufacture of individual components on the substrate. In order to fire these coatings, the substrates are conveyed on a heat-resistant belt, e.g. a steel mesh or link belt, through a continuous oven having inlet- and outlet-openings. The speed of travel of the mesh belt is chosen such that the paste layers on the substrate are, given a predetermined internal oven temperature, sufficiently fired during one passage through the oven.
The disadvantage of these known devices is that, during the movement of the substrate, the surface of the substrate facing the mesh belt can be seriously damaged.